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S I^ E E C H 
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HON. JOHN B. HU81 



O IT C L ^\. li li IC , 



DELIVERED IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRI^SENTATIVES OF KENTUCKY, 



FEBRUARY 11, 1863. 



ON THE REPORT OF THE Cf^MMITTEE ON FEDERAL RELATIONS, 
AND THE AMENDMENTS THERETO. 



FRANKFORT, KENTl'CKV : 
PRINTED AT THE COMM(_).\ WEA LTIT OFFlCJv 

WM. E. HUGHES STATE PRINTER. 

18 6 :j . 



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s IP E E o h: 



Mr. HUSTON 8aid: 

Mr. Chairman — 1 propose, as briefly as possible, to expre.«»s some 
viewi; upon the subjects under consideration. I am prolbundiy im- 
pressed with the importance and solemnity of the occasion. D^tngers 
beset us on every side. Darkness and gloom are round about us. 
We anxiously look for light to guide our couise. It is incumbent on 
us to slri\(' to keep passion under ihe control of reason. Let thought — 
calm, dispas.<ionate ihpught — rule the occasion and guide our action. 
There is danger, fiom the natural operation of the mind, of running 
into extrJMues liom a fauuHar and continued lin»; of thought upon any 
Kubject at any time ; and a force of will and action is given i > one or 
another direction just as the practice of such familiarity is indulged 
and continue<i. And in these times of lawlessness, of open violations 
of legal restraints, and of ncquie.-<cence in, and excuses for, such dis- 
ordeis, the natural tendency is increased in strength, and requires a 
stern and fixed lesistance to avoid its fearful consequences. It he- 
comes us. then, in pr-oper spirit, to rise above all mere party, to look 
the danger I'airly in the face, and keep full high advanced, the stand- 
ard of loyalty, the standard of our country's interest, and to walk 
firmly the narrow path of principle and duty, fearless of consequences. 
11" I know myself 1 intend to {)ursue this course. And I am gratified 
to believe that the peo()le have takiMi the "'sober second tliought " in 
r«^gard to the perils that beset us; that ihey are alarmed into reflec- 
tion. Aad when this is fully accomplished good results must follow. 
It is well for the country's hoj)es and destiny that we should be arous- 
ed, while floating down the current of events, by the roar of the plung- 
ing cataract, before it is too late to escape. We may yet leap to the 
projecting crags, and achieve deliverance, and escape the fatal 
plunge. 

I am awai-e, sir, that a disposition exists to question the loyalty of 
any one who feels constrained to condemn the principles and policy 
of the administration of the General Government. This arises from 
a neglect to distinguish betwe<m the Government and its A'lviinistra- 
tion, and from an incorrect perception of the con^tituents of" loyally. 
I, sir, am not appreliensive that my loyalty will be questioned. 1 feel 
a consciousness that 1 atn above suspicion. The biief history of iisy 
hutnble career is my sufficient vindication. What, sir, is l!)yalty ? It 
is not subserviency to a party or to a man, no matter in what position 



4' 

of powfM", or to opinion, whether separate or a^ifj^rPijate. But, sir, it 
it-i a ir/'s-f and active rlrvdinn l<i fani. It is devotion to the prin(',i])l(-s em- 
bofiied in our Constitntion of Government, the fundatnentMl law, ani 
to the welfare of our conntry. Ours is a governnnent. of law — o! writ- 
ten and (ixed law Thi^ is its o^ieat and distinguishing feature ; and 
these laws are the will of the people, who, through them, ai-e supreme, 
and through them govern for the good of all. In our system the law 
is set above the magistrate. 

Now, sir, when these principles of government are put in peril ; 
wlien they are assailed, no matter from what quarter, it is the duty of 
eveiy citizen, much more of a representative of the people, to inter- 
po-e. with all hi-^ ability and all his means, to uphold the law to sus- 
tain loyalty, and he who does not is unfaithful to his trust. Besi.les, 
Fir, I and you. and all of us here, are sworn to discharge t!iat, duty. 
The higher obligation of an oath is upon us. and the con iemtiatinn of 
moral perjury is ours, if we neglect to uphold, support, and defend the 
constitution when in jeopardy. 

Are we then to be told, sir, that in pursuance of the custo.Tis of tlie 
past, in emho Iving our opinions and views and purposes in regard to 
the .'idtninistration of the General Go\ernment, and its usurpations of 
power ami general policy, that we may contribute to the mwss of' pop- 
ular opinion, that we are disloyal? Disloyal to whom? To the law 
we would uphold and shield from assault ? Certainly not. To a Pi-es- 
idefit, or a faction in power? To them, as such, we owe no allegiance 
in any legal sense of the term. 

I would treat with high consideration the executors of ihe law. t 
would give all indulgence, and all fair allowance growing out nf the 
disturbed state of the times, to those charged with the conduct of our 
public affairs; and all support should be given to them that our posi- 
tion and duties fairly demand, and all oppf^sitioji froin party grounds 
should be restrained. But. in all this nothing is found to justify a t'ail- 
ure to condetTin and re^^ist usurpations of power destructive of law 
and fatal, to liberty. These sentiments and duties are not impaired, or 
lessened in their force in times of war. Alike in peace and war the 
same obligations ex\<X. Indeed, it strikes me, sir, that they apply with 
gicater force to a bfdii erent condition, lor the reason that passi(ui 
then i-- most likely to l)e in the ascendant, and the laboring condttion 
of the government tiie more requires the watcijfulness and sleepless 
energy of all concerned. In the dim dawn of regulated liberty in the 
past, we have heard a wise King uttering this sentiment: " All King.s 
phouiil be glad to hound tliemselves within the limits of their laws, and 
tht-y lh;it peivuade tlKMU to the amtnirij ure vipers and p'sts both against 
thim and the CofHrnnnincallh .''' 

Si!;-!i. .'^ir, are my notions of loyalty, and the duties imposed on us. 
We lia\'e a national G-ivrrnment that commands this loyalty. I have 
been b. ought up in a school of politics that taught me to believe' and 
I do b'-lieve, that our Constitution forms a G avrnment, not a league, 
not a mere conlederacy of Stales. That it is the people's goveinment, 
made for them, and /;// them. Let me a[)peal to authority and the Con- 
stitution itself to place thi.-i more clearly before our minds, for I am 
p(!rsuadcU that much of evil, much of the dangers of this crisis, have 



5 

gi-nwn out o' false teachings in regard to the true constru 'fion oC v.vv 
National and State Governments — a complex, yet a beautiCu] an.i li;ii- 
monious system. 

General Jackson, in his celebrated proch-tmation, said : '• 'Vhf Cmh- 
t^titution of the Tnited Sfates?! forms a government, not a leagiic , niul 
whether it be formed l)y compact between the States oi any cihcr 
manner, its character is tiie same. Jt is a government in vvhii ii ali ihe 
people are represented, which operates diieclly on the people iihiivlMii- 
ally, not upon the Slates, they retaining all the powers liny did 
not grant. Hut each State having expressly parted with m« iuj'uy 
jjoweis as to constitute, jointly with the other States, a single naiioii, 
cannot, Irom that period, possess any right to secede, because r-u-.-h 
secession does not break a league, but destr-oys the unity of a. naiion 

Ml-. Calhoun himself in his letter to the B;iliimore Conventioji in 
1841, said : "That each State has a right to act as it pleasi^s in w U.kI- 
ever r« dates to itself exclusively, no man will deny ; but.it is a. j)e;fect- 
ly ti;,>vel doctrine tliat any State has such a right wlien she c ■mes io 
act in concert with oihers in reference to whatever concerns tlw wiioh^ 
In such cases, it is the plainest dictate of common sense that whuiCvep 
affects the whole should be regulated by the mutual consent of ali, and 
not by the ('iscietion of each." 

Article 0, seition 2, United States Constitution, declares: " Thig 
Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be m;ide 
in fiursuance thereof, and all treaties made under tlie authori!\ oi' v.ie 
United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, anything in ilie 
laws or Constitution of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." 

Justice Story, upon the Supreme Court bench said : "The C*)nMitu- 
tion of the Unitecl States was established, not by the States in their 
sovereign capjicity. but emphatically, as the preamble of the Cmstitu- 
tion declares, by the people of the United States." 

Chief Justice AJarshall said : " The Constitution and laws of a Suite, 
so lar as they are repugnant to the Constitution and laws of the i nited 
States, are a!)solutely void. They are members of one great empire." 

Daniel Webster, in his leply to Hayne, said : " It is. sir, the people's 
Constitution, the peop(de's Government, made lor the peo[)le, made by 
the people, and answerable to the people. The people oi the United 
Stat(?s have declared that it shall be the sitpreme law." 

This is enough from authority, and history, and :^eui*c, to e-tH!>lish 
the fact of a Nati(»nal Governtnent; a mighty fact, and a miiiiity and 
magnificent system of government, commamiing our allegi;inc<' arsd 
deserving our love Secession, then, the miserabbi teaching of" Siaies 
Rights," as engendered and put I'orth by the South Carolina schotd, 
has no warrant in the Constitution, none in authority, none in states- 
manship, f)ut is in palpable violation of all; is a [)r')lilic source t)t our 
civil troubles; is, in i'ncl, t/ cason ; and its author.s, its aiders and abet- 
ters are the propagaridists of treason. 

Tlie mode of interpretation of this written Government, thus adopt- 
ed and ratified by the peo|)le to effect its enil.-<, is higlily important. 
This Government is not vested with, and can e.^ceicise no poaer. liiit 
is not delegatid to it by the CiDistihUinn. itself. Tliis is an iinportmt and 
vital j)rinciple, and ii arises out of the nature of tfie instruiiient as it 



6 

was first framed and adopted. The amendments to the Constitution 
most clearly develop this principle: "The eiiasneration, in the Consti- 
tution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to d(-'ny and destro^?^ 
others retained by the people." "The powers not iich:i!;(itcd to the 
United States, nor prohibited by it to the States, are re.<er\'ed to the 
Stales respectively, or to the people." Mark how carefully the re- 
served rights are guarded. But the Supreme Court has given its 
Weighty sanction to this principle. Says that Court : " Tiin Govern- 
ment of the United Slates can claim no powers which are not granted 
by the Constitution ; and the powers actually granted must be siich as 
are expressly given, or given b}^ necessary im[)lication. ' "That the 
{sovereign powers vested in the State Governments, by their respective 
constitutions, remain unaltered and unitnpaired, except so fai- as they 
were granted to the Government of the United States." It further de- 
cides, " 'I'hat under the Constitution, conferring s[)ecial powers, the 
power contended for must be granted, or it catinot be exercised." 

To make their work complete, the framers of that instrument wisely 
distributed the power- of the Government into three departments. In 
it are tound legislative powers, limited and resti-icted, and they are 
conferred upon Congress ; executive powers, still more restricted, and 
they are conferred on the President; judicial powers, e(iual and sutfi- 
cient lor the ends and purposes of the Government, and they are vested 
in the supreme and inferior courts. These powers are kept separate. 
There is no intermingling of them among the dilferent departments. 
One tiepartment, or its officers, cannot exercise the powers conferred 
on anotlier. The wisdom and design of the separation is that each 
should be a check upon the other, and so preserve the harmony of the 
system. One department cannot, by law, oi- by any implication, 
exercise the powers and duties of another. And equally the rights 
and liberties guaranteed to the States or the people, cannot be in- 
fringed or taken away by law or implication. It should be stated 
that, in addition to his executive powers, the President is made the 
Commander-in-chief of the A my and iNavy of the United States. 

It would have been impossible, in detail, to have enumerated all the 
powers neces.sary for a great government foi-med for perpetuity. And 
to accomplish this purpose, and grant full aid to each of the great de- 
partments to execute the granted powers, more general terms and a 
more general provision had of necessity to be adopted, and this is ac- 
complished by this clause of the Constitution: " Congress shall have 
power to make all laws which shall be necessary and pi'oper for car- 
rying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested 
by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any 
department or officer theieof." 

Now is it not clear that this comprehensive grant to Congress invests 
it, and it alone, with authority to furnish to the other departments all 
the aid they may require to execute the powers expressly given to 
them? 

The other departments can get such aid from no other source. The 
President cannot, by implicalion, derive any aid to himself to execute a 
power grante<l to him. No auxiliary jiower^ however needed to the 
proper discharge of the granted ones, is vested in him, and he must 



look to Congress, under the above recited gr int, to confer it in tiic form 
of Ihw. 

Mr. Chairman, in the light of these constitutional provi,sions, and 
the o.-!tfiblished methodvS of their interpretation, I propose to examine 
freely and candidly ^^ome of the (exercises of power by the present 
Chief" Mairistrate o{ tlie nation. In tloing so 1 shall seek to be guuled 
by these great and fundamental principles, and will I'earlessly lidlow their 
lead to legitimate conclusions. This is our only safe guiih^ in the 
darkness and perils of the exigency. Temperate, free, and dispassion- 
ate discussio:i of the constitutional power of the President lo issue 
and execute his recent proclamation, and of iheir policy, is ific privil- 
ege ot freemen, and the best method in this land of popular g«)ver!i- 
ment to elicit the truth and correct errors. It gives me pain to disap- 
prove and condemn the otiicial acts of any functionary of the Govern- 
ment, yet a sense of duty, and the mighty interests involved, compel 
me to 5peak my opinions from my place here as a representative of the 
State of Kentucky with candor and becoming boldness. 

On the 2'^d of September, and on the Is! of January past, the one 
the consummation of the other, Abraham Lincolti, President of the 
United States, declares, by his proclamation, '"that by virtue of the [)OW- 
er in him vested as Commander-in Chief of the aiiiiy and navy of the 
United States, in times of actual armed reb llion against the authori- 
ty and Government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary 
war measure for suppressing the rebellion, he does on this, the 1st day 
of January, 18G3, order ami declare that all persons held as slaves 
wi bin the States and parts of States in rebellioii, (which are therein 
designated.) ^/rc r/.Hf/ hcncrfnrUi ii'iiaU be free, and that tfie Executive Gov- 
ernment of the United States, including the military and navalauthor- 
ities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said pcn'sons." 
And he further declares, '-'that such persons, of suitable condition, will 
be received into the armed sei-vice of the United States, to gari'ison 
foi-ts, positions. &c., and man vessels of all sorts in said service." The 
edict of the 2"id of Se[)tember was the interlocutory order, and that of 
the 1st of .January the final decree. All the seceded States are named 
exf'.ept Tennessee, Western Virginia, and a fractional part of Louisi- 
ana. 

On the 24th Septemb r, two days after the first edict. Mr. Lincoln put 
forth another one as follows: 

"Whereas, ilhas become nece.s.sary to call into sel'vice riol only volunteers, hut also 
portions of the militia of the States, by ilrat't, in orJer to suppress tlie insurrection 
existing in the United States; anil disloyal persons are not adequately restrained, lij 
ordinary process of law, from hindering this measure, and from giving aid and com- 
fort in various ways lo the insurrection — Now, therefore he it ordered, 

'''First. During tiie existing insurrection, and as a ntcessrry measure for suppressing 
tlie same, all rebels and insurgents, their aiders ami abetters, within the United Stales 
and all persons discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting militia dr-ifts, ov (/nidi/ of 
any disloyal practice. atiui<ling aid and comfort to the reliels against the autliority ot 
the United States, siuiU be subject to martial law, liable to trial and punishmeni by 
courts martial or military commission. 

^'Secoml. The writ of habeas corpus is suspended in respect to all persons arrested, or 
who are now, or liereafter during the rebellion shall l)e impri.soned in any fort, camp, 
arsenal, military prison, or other place ot continement, by any military auiiioriiy or 
by the sentence of any court martial or military commission. 



8 

And to cany out this last proclamation the Secretary of War, by ortler 
oi the Prt'sidt'iii, established and published certain regulations and orders. 
He made a Ptovost Marshal General tor the whole couuti-y, to be situ- 
ate j at Washington, and invested him with toll authority over other 
provost marshals to' be appointed in every orlier part of the country 
tiiat migln be triought advisal)le — Miese latter to be under the orders 
and iiisi ructions of the General Provost Marshal. They are to arrest 
all disloyal persons subject to arrest under the authority of the War 
Depaittnent, and to inquire into and re()ort all treasonable practices; 
and many other searching and high powers are given thein. 

Anil to aid in the execiuion of these duties, they are authorized to 
call in the assistance of any available military force in their district, 
or to o!)tain the aid of civil otKcers of the State and of private citizens 
also, all under the Chiet Provost. 'I'he expenses and compensation of 
all this is, in like mianer, ()rovided for by ortlers. 

Tiiis, sir, id a fair pi-esentation of the procla:narion schemes of the 
Pi-esident for suppressing the rebellion, as he avers. I am constrained 
sir, to say that this gigantic scheme is in reality one for the abolition 
of negi'o slavery in this whole country, nnd to divest i'ree white men — 
citi/.eiis of the republic — i>f the dearest rights and immunities of liber- 
ty. The p()\,vers exercised are usurpations. 

What is th<! source of these powei's? 1 cannot find that they are de- 
rived from the Constitution. I'hey are in contravention of it. The 
President, himself, seems to [)lace his authority for his high handed 
measures upon his rights and aidlntril y as ComnvindiV-in-Cliief in times of 
W(ir. In his interview with the Chicago preachers, who came to him 
to urge some such measures as these proclamations, he refused to do 
it, but saiil: ''•as ConuiKiadcr-in- Chief of the armij and navy in time of war, 
1 s'lppase I have a right to take any measures which may best subdue the 
enemy'' lathe interlocutory edict of 'i^d September, he seemed to 
place himselt upon E.ccculioe authority. But now it is claimed to be 
exercised as a "military necessity," as an incident to the [)owers of 
Commander in-Ohief in time of actual war. This is a portentioua 
claim of military power over us, and the liberties of the country, be- 
cause we are in a state of war. 

llt're is an edict that, on the 1st of January, 18G3, all persons held 
as slaves in the designated States shall be relieved from their legal 
thraldom, and shall, by their own efforts, and by the wholt; military 
authority of the country, be sustained in the right asserted by Aboli- 
tionists to their personal freedom. Now, sir, slavery is established by 
the laws of the slave States, enacted by State authority, which are as 
binding laws, which rest upon as unquestionable authority, in our 
form ot government, as any laws of the States upon any subj<'.ct what- 
evei-. Slavery, by the Constitution, was made the basis of federal I'ep- 
rese'ntation in part, and of taxation. In the enumeration to apportion 
representation three- fifths of the slaves were to be taken into the es- 
timate. And in order to secure the institution the Constitution ex- 
pressly declares, that "no person held to sei-vice or labor in one State 
under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of 
any law or regulation therein, be dischanged from such service or la- 
bor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such ser- 



9 

vice or labor may he diif'." The ins^titution actually existed in a!! the 
Sciten but one at the tiiiie of th<^ adofjtion of ihc Constitntioa. 'i'his, 
in ;t \eg-d\ sen.se, woulJ seem to be safFicient. The Fathei's held, 
whether tilavery had its abuses or no!, vviiether it was naturnlly ri^ht 
or not, that it should be left to the ivgulations of the Sfatcs alone. That 
climatH, soil, physical hHl)itudes ami conditions would, under St.ite ac- 
tion and moral teaehini^s, contnd the whole malter. They knew, aa 
\vc do, that it had existed in the usm'^cs ot" the nations, ''{'ov the (mi;|s of 
social conservatisiu an I niin-al g )vern;nent," since Cain, ?ur his iratri- 
cidai crime, was branded and thrown out a fugitive and vagahojid on 
the eaith, and the decendants of Main were made subject to the do- 
minim of his hrethi-en, Shem and Japhet. They knew it was corn- 
tnon law. That it was incorporated into the theocracy of the Jews, 
Tiiat it was recognized and regulated by the pure and lofty precepts of 
the New Testament, under the personal teachings of Christ and his 
Apostles. Its abulishaient was mainly, in times past, contrtdled by its 
want of adaptation to the physical condition of the country, and its 
coaspquent want of convenience and pi'ofit. But, sir, the avenues of 
powf r over it I'.x the Cieneral Government were forever closed. Con- 
\.V'~)\. cxchisive coa/.rol. over it, wh(;ther in itsflfa blessing or a curse — 
and that question is not now in the line of my thoughts, and I shall 
not enter upon it — exists in the States where it is tolerated, and no 
where else. I would treat of slaves as I would all other property. I 
know of no right to property under a government except as derived 
fi'oin law. And no other species of property held under ISfate law is 
more securely guartled than slave property. Propcrifj is protected and 
secured in the same mode, and just as strongly, as liberty and life are. 

If, then, the President, in time of war, can, by his mere decree, de- 
prive the citizen- of the Sia'es ot theii- i>roperty hy an implied consti- 
tutional right in him, as Comaian ler-in-Chief, becau-e, in his opinion, 
he may thereby 'best subdue the enemy," he may, with equal season, 
*foi- the same end, disregard every constitutional restriction upon him, 
oi-^ he may exercise any power not delegated to him, and may thus set 
aside tlie entire Constitution and a lopf despotic rule. Every reserved 
right of the States, every reserved riglit of the people, could he crush- 
ed beneath his loot at his autocratic will. Me extends this sweepings 
power over extensive districts, as a /cffislaloi\ not for a specific opeifition 
oi occasion, but without limit as to time. It is, in Ibrm and suL)ssHnce, 
a l(/.:o, and a terribh^ one too. Under his assuaiption, landrf, personal- 
ty, and all the products oi" labor and toil, ir»ay.be swept away tVom 
their owners by an imperial tiku.sc. 

'J'he question is notatfected by the fact that the States designated in 
the proclau»;ition, or the gr(?ater part of the citizi^ns thereof, a -e in open 
rci)el!ion against the National Government. These rebellious States 
are, in a legal sense, still members of the Union, and under the right- 
iul authority of the Government. The ordinances of secession are null 
and void. This is the fotmdaiion of prosecuting a war to ejiforce the 
laws over them, and to bring them back to their allegiance In its ef- 
fects it operates alike upon the h^yal and disloyal, U()on the property 
of the woman and cliild, and those under any other disability. 



10 

But, iir, let us notice the proclamation of the 24th of September, 
and the orders to carry it into execution. It is not necc^^sary for niy 
purposes to enter u{)on the much-discussed question, whether the power 
to suspend the " writ of liobcas corpus'^ is conferred on the President or 
Congress. •! will, however, sny that, in my opinion, Con<i:ress alone has 
that [)ower; and such is the current of authority and enlightened judi- 
cial decisions. But the power, even if it is an executive one, to sus- 
pend the •• writ" xn par ticidar cases, and as to a particuhiT person, \^ a very 
dilTerenl one from suspending- it over the whole territoiy of the United 
Statf-s — denying it to all persons who shall be " arrested by any milita- 
ry authority," aiinuiling the laws of States, enacting new laws, creat- 
ing new ofiVnces unknown to any law, and affixing unknown and dis- 
cretionary punishments. All this is done by this other proclamation. 
The [)ower to do this is claimed as an incident to those of the Commnnd- 
er ill-chief. Congress alone can make national laws. Congress alone 
can dtdine offences, and prescribe pains and penalties that are not 
" cruel or unusual." But here this legislative edict makes " disloyal 
pra'-lices," •' discouraging enlistments," new olfences unknown to ex- 
isting law. There may be very grave and high offences embraced in 
these liesignaiions, which existing laws have provided against. Every 
citizen, except in cases arising in the land and naval forces, Avhen 
charged with an oflence, has the privilege of a, judicial trial under law, 
and beibre a jury of his peers, in open court, in the presence of wit- 
nesses. But uniler this proclamation, the judiciary is dispensed with, 
juries are dispensed with, law and open trial are dispensed with, and a 
provost marshal's accusation is substituted for a legal presentment, a 
military commission lor a judge, court, and jury, and unlimited and 
discretionary ()unishment, in kind and degree, are substituted in place 
of penalties allixed by law ; so that, under this claim of power as a 
"military n«'cessity, to subdue the enemy," the constitutional safe- 
guards thrown around every citizen, the poor and the rich, the noble 
and the ignoble, in private life or in official station, may be trampled' 
uniler foot atul despised. The Congress, the judiciary, the heads of de- 
partments, all or any one, everywhere, may be arrested for disloyal prac- 
tices, imprisoned and punished at discretion, because the Commander- 
in-chiet may deem that it would " best subdue the enemy." 

'^J'his is the assumption of fearful power; it is not granted to any de- 
partment by the Constitution ; it is at war with the spirit and genius of 
our structure ot" government. The military power of the President is 
derived solchj from the Constitution, just as his civil power is; it is re- 
stricted by that great law, just as his civil power is. The junction of 
Couunander-in chief to his executive authority, neither enlarges the 
one ()!• the other of the grants. In actual war he may do whatever gen- 
erals in command of military operations may do, and no more. If any 
other functionary or person had been created Commander-in-chief by 
the Constitution, he would have had the same power, as such, as the 
Pr(\-<ident now has ; and the President, as such commander, has no more 
or other military power than such functionary or pers ai would have 
had. And all the powers of the chief commander are and must be 
held in strict ^ubordination to the laws of the land, from which alone 
they derive their authority of action. 



11 

Wh.it are the limits of military power? In these times, when bay- 
onets glisten in every sunbeam all <iver our State, this becomes a (jues 
tion ol vast importance. Milito.rij law is a system of laws enacted by 
the lam iiKikiii^ piircr, lor " liie government of the army and navy, an I 
the militia, when called into the actual service ol the United States." 
It operates alone u[)on those enlisted in the service. It has no opera- 
tion upon private citizens, nor upon liieir propiM'ty. These are as U-et 
fiom its c<»ntrol as it' it did not exist. AJurlia/ law is a different thing, 
II is said to be " the will of a military commander, operating without 
restraint upon tlie lives and property ot all over whom it extends." 
Every citizen under its control is deprived of the shield of known and 
fixed laws, as to life, liberty, and propeity. But under our Constitu- 
tion, how hirdoes this martini lawexleiid? What are its boundarie.s ? 
The jjower Xochclarc u-ar includes the ordinary and necessary means to 
make that war ell'ectual. Commanding generals, in time of war, may 
and must exercise powers not seen or felt in time of peace, but em- 
Inaced in the Ctmstituiion in the war-power above recited and devel- 
oj)ed in tinn's of war. Such commanders may, in conducting actual 
military operations with an army in the field, seize and appropriate 
image aiul subsisiencr for that army, if necessity requires it. lie may 
seize slaves, horses, any personal pi'operty, occupy lands, destroy houses 
to win battles or resist an opposing enemy — all this as an exigent, press- 
iKQ- nccessitij ; but for the pn)perfy taken, or consumed in the using, the 
Government is bound to make just compensation. The title to slaves, 
and to other things not consumed in the using, and the property itself, 
reverts to the o\\ nei' when the necessity for its use has ceased. J'he 
commander, in the sphere of his actual operations in the field, may ap- 
p.elieiid and punish peisons inteileiing with and thwarting his enter- 
])riM', accordiiigto the articles of war. This martial-law power arise* 
out of the operation, and ex[)ires with the emergency. It is a power 
to ad in a given present case. It is not a power to make laws — not a 
power to operate upon persons or property in the future. This is the 
Hunt ol martiitl lair. 

The proclamation of the 24th of September has no warrant in either 
milit ry or martial law. It reaches far beyond them. It legislates for 
a whole country. It embraces all citizens. It subjects the lives, pro- 
pi-ity, entire social condition, and individual libery of a great people, 
to the will of one man — to the will of a military commander — unre- 
st "aiiied, except by his own judgment. Who can be found bold enough 
to delend such as.--umptions ol power? There is no parallel to it in our 
history — none in the history of f.ngland, since the reign of Charles L 

It is time lh(! people should have lull knowledge of their rights, and 
the g. eat fundamental rules nnd guarantees of civil liberty. They are 
tlie product of' ages of experience, and wisdom, and treasure, and 
blooil. If enlightened, the people will awake in the majesty of their 
St ength, and protect and |)reserve the great principles of :ree govera- 
m' nt. Their sacrifice is not needful for the successful prosecution of 
the existing or any other war. There is legitimate strength enough in 
the Govern,nent, and in the people who love it, to bring this rebellion 
to a just and successful close, and maintain every great principle of 



])!irnrin lii)'',r\\ Tlii.-! i.s oui- diuy. A mighty ta.~k, but glorious in pur- 
pose. 

The Prc8i;l(Mit has rlcpartHil fVo'ii the hi-^h and pi-oppi- principh^'s and 
purposes ;i.s-;i^iipd bv hiaiself and Oonu^i-ess I'm- the wng-ing and thv. ron- 
(iuct of t'li.-i iii-t^.tt \v;ii' now d^'-ol.itin^ the iand. The Govei-ntnent took 
U!) the i^ai^-iie of battle, roi';'ed upon it without cause, to preserve its 
own lite, '-not in ;i spi,"it of oppi'es-ion. nor loi- any purpose of ovr- 
throwini^ or ititei lerin-^ with t!ie rights or established institutions of the 
States, but to deleod and maintain the sup-emacy of the Constitu ion, 
and preserve \h'.- Ursion wilh hll the disunity and equality of the sevtoal 
States imimpaii-cd ; and that as soon as these objects were accoui- 
plished, the v\ ar <)u;Liifht to cease." 

To these pi'iiiriplcs und puipr)seslhe PiTsident has given his rejieat- 
ed assent. lie ;uhl the Government stand pledged to them before the 
countrv. But a leju'ful ch-tnge has come ove;- him and his advisers, 
liistead of using, as he com nenced to do. the full and ample |)owers of 
the Goveriiment, and the volunrarv devotion of a mighty people, to the 
proper ends Just slated, he Iims. by imperial edicts, sought to turn them 
all againsi the property (,i| nine millions of people, under the pretext 
ot' univt rsal eifiancif)ation iVoiu slavery ; and to eflect that '■ painted 
(Ireitm of mural enthusiasm. " he is assuming and exercising powers 
over the rights and liberties of the people everywhere, destructive of 
llie great principles of tree government. 

To effect the liheration ol liv .\f.'ioan slave, the Constitution i- to 
he disregardi'ii. and the war w.iged at the unlimited discretion of the 
Com /landei-in Chi.-f. Thi-< is tlie p >licy of th;it party o{' p ditical u') >■ 
li/.ioni.^/H, who openly declare, •■ Voho iy pretends that this act (pro.da- 
mnrioa) i- constitutional, and no!) >dv cares wliether it is or not." 

Elevens tlie leader in the !ow<m- House — that TiiirsUcs of Congress — 
o|)enly declared, in his place. This Union shall tiever, with my con- 
sent, be restored un ler the Constitution as it is, with slavery to be pro- 
tecte.l by it." 

Ab(diii'>ni^ts '-sieUen" .'U tal!\ an I efloi-ts to restore the Government 
as it was This faction, that see.ns To have temporary control of the 
(iovernment, liavi- aiisen tVo n false philosophy. As the lalse nnd 
subtle teac-hiiiiTs of the SouMi C/arolina school, in regard to the struc- 
ture and interpretations of our foi-m of g vernment, stimulated by 
comtnercial considerations, eiiienlered .scrcssinii and rebellion, ^o the 
ps-.'Vfln political philo.-ophv of .\oithern moralists evolved politi.-al 
abolilitmi -la They i-ejeeted mor.il eli'oi-fs u|)on individual minds; they 
rejected reason and truth, and the relorming process of Christianity. 
They entered the |)o!iiica! aiena, and have attempted, by politieal 
agencies, lo reforoi and reconstru<'t society upon a moral ba-is. ia 
unison with the speculaiive conceits of an undelined and undefinable 
general hu. iiiinihiriiinisin. 'i'liey would lesiore society, and bring it up 
to their stand ird of Wild imaginings, by first destroying it They put 
7/r//Mrt' above rrrc/t/fion, and above the revealed system of grace. 'J'hey 
cast a-ide constitutions, and even the Bible itself, and bringdown God 
to their standard ol what He should be. They make a man Gnd, and 
\\K>\ .\. Gal iiKiii riiev overleap the boundaries of Church and State, 
and contuse I'le !ej,itiu(ate operations of political and moral agenciea. 



IB 



]r.f]Mmf<l hv pvils flinr nrisp. not nut of the relationp of soci'^ty,bnt out 
ol' ihp b!i(i pas.-ions of a (-(^mm^n. (l( pr.-ivi d luitnre. tlifv s^ek, withoiit 
r( iraid to vnco. u^v, sex, roiniition. capacitv. or any ollifi- thiiijj;-, to 
(•(i'tct, hv political a;^ftici<'s. univfr-al ■Pfjiiality an;! iVatrniily." I''- r- 
j2rt(n| of the past scvri>tv v< ai? of i;i!r(|iial((! pro,- p^'iity . of w iiich 
lh«y anfl their fathers were hoiimiftd rei ipieiits. tiiey have established 
thf '• hjohf")- law" as the idol of their devotion, and, r< ekle^ss. drive the 
ear of llieir Jtisrei nant cmshinjriy c-ver tlie :io\ ermrient and liberties i>f 
this jjreat people. The bad tea(diin<is of i hese " inHated niissioimi ies '' 
hcem now to be in the aseendant. 

]\!r. Chairnian. the nt;i!o. while he remains with the white rare, 
nuisl be his ^^^ve. It is his nonnai condition. It is the condition of 
benefits to the subject race. It hrinys them in contact with the nsa^n-s 
(f civilized life, j.nd under the intloeix-e of the Christian church, and 
into its fellowship. It contributes to their natural atui moral wants. 
In any other relation this inferior race will perish, as the |)oor Indians 
have done, before the viooi- and power of tlie Aiij^io-Saxon mind and 
\' ill. Indeed, some of these suppttsed Inoivinit'iridns have thrown otf 
the veil, and openh' avow a purpose lo destroy the neirfo race in our 
nnd-!t. (or s«dfish ends. Is it possible that the l)est <iovernment ot the 
\\«)ild is to be destroyed hv such a <dass of wild enthusiasts, who com- 
preheiid none of the livinir lealiiies of ji^overnrtH'nt, or of the horrors 
ol' flestroN in? a social edifice that has contril)nted, in its constituted 
o dcr, to an unexampled prospeiity of tSu-ee generaiions. 

\a'\ the vfdce of intelliirent condemnation he. raised aloud afi:ainst 
piicli teachitif^s. Sir. Abolitionism, thus brnu;uht iiilo existence, draw;* 
its <-ontituuMl support from ai,'-itation and (-easeless strife. It overleaj);? 
all ieyfal harriers, overrides Constitutions, National and State; strikers 
down State Governments: destroys the ri;,'hts of private prop<'rry ; 
clo-es the prison d<»ois upon personal hheity ; contemptuously stannp-', 
beneath the heid of " nulilary necessity," the .^reat principles of [iH- 
vate safety ami public order. And all this is done under the pniixt 
that sfiwrry is the rmisr of the rehe|li(m. and must bo destroyed by any 
nuans ami at all hazards. To accomplisli their timd scheme, they 
have forced the I're-ident int(^ their service, and hen -e his unconstitn- 
1i'>i;;il and usurping- edicts. A craz'-d ami rec!<hss Congress move- at 
ihe b( hest ol their umd spirit, carves n<nv Sta.tes out of old ones, with- 
out the consent (d' the disuu-'ud^ered ( M)!uinoii\vea!th ; brings tciwitoricd 
into the I'orm of Statics. witliDiit inhabitants— all to streui^-then their 
])'diti -ai [)o\ver. Thev arm slaves as soldi(U-s. an;! place them on an 
e*|ualitv with the citizen volunteers, and thus deirrade and disi^race 
th*' valor an I seivices of ou • h-ave soldiery, who have risked life for 
the (ioNernment id" their Inve — all to the one end of abolishing African 
Fla veiy. 

.Mr Chaii-man. can anv redectiii<r luind be indifierent to the cotirse 
of f.!ie irreat events we h;Hve h-'en con ddei-in<4? Where are we dcift- 
inu':^ The very foumlatinn pi j|;irs of i ej^ulaied liberty are tretnhlin^ 
(Ml their h.ise. and totteii nj.;: '<» 'li'irirdl. And yet the cry is heard -'/e/w 
((ircsy Crush -lavery. crii-h the rel-.eilion. How can we battle and 
struj:L!,le to briiiLj the i n-u;-:^'enr- to theii' Just (d)edicnce to law if \.\e 
ourselves disre^juid and desti'oy that law? Sir, a people who deserve 



]4 

to be free fi'o r»^/?r abfuit Ih rsp things. They are t;'ue and taithfnl to 
their own Government, jind intend that theii- ))ul)lic servant-^ shall not 
violate the fundamental pi incijilcs of liberiy and sfiuiiiiy. Thf^y will 
form jiK«t jiid;Li;rneiiis. They know "that national concord cannot spring 
irom usurpations of power/' They distinguish clearly between the 
Govervvinit itself and the (idmhiis'ralinu of that Goverrnnent. The 
men in authority are but temporary trustees of the powers of govern- 
ment The bad and craven conduct of a Buchannan, the usurpations 
ol a Lincoln, should not. cannot, lessen our obligation to our G<»v<Tn- 
nient, to ourselves, and ti> posterity. Are we to cease to strive, for our 
country's safety because the President and Conj^ress. for the time bcimr^ 
have fallen into feaiful errors? No sir. Let us by all constitutional 
means, {1 amvscl iio rcx'ohiliniiiirij (iction.) earnestly stiive to correct the 
errors, and remove the had. faithless, trust* es fri>rn their places of pow- 
er. "'Let the people but be right, and no President can long be wrong. 
Nor can he effect any fatal mi>chief if he should he." The popular 
mind, once instructed, will arouse itselCto the great task before it. and 
it is equal to the achievement, if sense and virtue enough remain for 
self government. It will reju-h the evil thr ugh the ballot-bo.x, and 
more immediately through the mighty j)o\\<r of active, outspoken 
pul)lic opinion. This is orie of the great remedies I advise. And to 
that end out acti<m heie is important. The voice of Kentucky, from 
• her past history, her hyal action through flifficulties and trials, her cen- 
tral geographical po.-i;ion, commands respect and will be heard. 
I'nited with the g!<'ai States of New Work. New .lei-sey, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Indiana, lllinoi-, and others, givir>g one united and mighty utter- 
ance from hundreds of thousands of conservative freemen, coming up 
to the guilty oflicials, like the 'sound ol many waters," it mu-^t be 
heard aiul lieeded. This voice has spoken, is speaking. Here is hope. 
The dark clou<ls are rilted, and the light of ho|)e is sireaming in upon 
us. 1 hail with pleasure the receiit manifestations of conservative 
yentimeiit among th(! people of nonslaveholding States. I regard it 
as an earnest of good — ol a power to sub lue the errors of theadrnin- 
jstration, arid to crush the rebellion. Viewing it in this light, although 
always an old Whig, 1 am prepared to unitt^ wiih the Democracy of 
the Noiih and Northwest m the contest for our Gv)vernment against 
Abolitionists and llebels. I do not object to the name. Indeed, sir. I w;is 
elected to this Legislature as a Union Democrat. I will unite witli a 
just conservative sentiment every where, under any name, for the salva- 
tion of my country. This united conservatism must and will < oinpel the 
l^esident and his adviseis to abandon their policy, return to the original 
purposes of lh<; struggle to which ihey stand pledged--recollect only their 
duty to theii- country, "and delend and maintain the supremacy of the 
Constitution, and preserve the Union with all the dignity, e(piality, and 
lights of the Slates, and as soon as tfiese objects are attained to cease 
the war." If this course is not [iursued all oui- effort-! will be in vain, 
'i'he lo^ic of (Tints must sui-ely demonstrate t«» the party in power that 
their policy is sirengthening the cause of the insurgents. 'I'he confis- 
cation policy. the pro(!lamaiion programme, the negro equality schemes, 
have given more aid to the rehellion than lw<Miiy cai)ilal vii-torics. it 
has consolidaled their power, dispelKui the lingering hopes of the Union 



15 

sentiment in the seceded States, stimulated passion to the utmosttension, 
and divided and disturbed the mind of the loyal States, and mada des- 
peration the ruling; policy. Change the policy, take hold of the con- 
stitutional vigor of the Government, recall to service the accoinpli-^hed 
brave officers that have been removed, and the heart of the nation 
will bound again in joyous hope, and tens of thousands of bold hearts 
will rally under the old flag, and rescue it from peril, and fling it out 
once more over a united and happy country. Why then, sir, the dy- 
ing embers of the patrioti^^m in the rebel State-; will rekindle to a 
flame. Even now, in Ea.st Tennessee and the highlands of Western 
North Carolina, Northern Georgia and Alabama, there is union leven 
enough to "leven the whole lump," and form a neuclus aroun<l which 
to gather the revived sentiment, by a change of policy, over whole 
States. I do not doubt that if the original purpose and policy of the 
mighty effort put forth to save the nation had been strictly adhered to, 
and honestly prosecuted, that success would have been virtually 
achieved. 

I say, sir, that the unconstitutional policy of the Administration 
should be conti-olled and corrected by all practical constitutional means. 
I have pointed out a ^rcnt means and a bright hope in the ballot-box, 
and in an enlightened and active popular sentimettt. Other means 
have been suggested, and among them an f/?-m/'.v//rc, coupled with a Na- 
tional Convention, the withholding and refusing supplies, and the with- 
drawal of our armies. Now, sir, an armistice, in ihe existing state of 
facts, would be a virtual surrender to the rebellion, and a dissolution 
of the Government, and partition of its territory. Such, in my view, 
in the present state of the contest, and the sentiinents of the belliger- 
ents, and of the people of the two sections, would be its practical i-e- 
sult. I, for one. sir, am not now, and never will be. prepared foi- such 
results, and all the fearful consequences ensuing. The withdrawal of 
our armies is an abandonment at once of the contest, and reaches im- 
mediately the same results that an armistice would proximately and 
more slowly produce. In this event, ruin, desolation would sweep 
over our State, aggiavated by the rampant insolence of successful in- 
vaders. The refusal of supplies by Congress is a pert'ectly constitu- 
tional method of restraint upon power; in its exercise lies the control- 
ing strength of the British Parliament. But is it practical in our exi- 
gences, and will a resort to it produce good ? In a state of peace, this 
restj-aint upon executive power should be freely used. But is there 
not a difference in a state of war, and should not the distinction be se- 
riously regarded? Mr. Calhoun said, when di.scussing the Loan Bill of 
1841 : "I regard the withholding supplies, with a view o{ f<,rcin<r the 
country (in a state of war) into a dishonorable peace, to be what it has 
been called, moml treason, but very little short of actual treason itself" 
What loyal citizen desires to force a peace by such means? If it 
would bring an honorable peace, a restored country, with their rich 
blessings, who would not leap to the remedy ? But, sir, this remedy, 
in my view, should be held subservient to the end to be obtained, and 
embracing in that end our country's honor. I do not see that it can 
now be applied for good. It may come to " that complexion at last;" 
and when it does come, it should be fairly and cautiouslij used. 



A IVational Convent ion ir* a constitutional remedy, and it can i)e bad, 
if the people are in earnest about it, without an armistice — w ithout 
withdraw inj^- armies — indeed, mni-e surely without these mfsisures than 
with them. N'l obstruction will be put in the way ot its appniiittiu'nt 
and its assend^lin>?, when one*' the sentiment f)t' the country demands 
it. And this will occur when sense and nnson attain the ascendant. 
It may be that hmger suffering and more severe^ punishment must, be 
endm-ed under the dispensation (d" that \il-wise and superintenfiing 
Provklenee, whose hand is up(>n us: His ends will be accomplished in 
Hiis own g;f)()d time. The fui'na<e may yet have to be hottei- before the 
puriHcarion iscomplete. "Out of .suffering cometh wisdom." 

This Natioial Couventicm, in my opinion, will Mnal!^-. and. as a ne- 
cespity, be resorted to. Why not have itsootj? By its action the pre- 
sent Constitution niMy, and, indeed, should be amended. Let no one 
be alarmed at the idea of amending the Constitution : it has been done 
Bince its first adoption. Many and various amendments have been 
pro|)0.-ed tor the last thirty years. I wouKI have it so amended, in a 
spirit of CO icessitm, that suffering and a necessity will produce, as to 
place t!ie question of slavery, and the control <d' tlie National Uovei-n- 
ment over it, upon the looting of the manifest intentions f its original 
framers. ] woidd [)ut th;it vexed question out of national politics, re- 
Berving the fugitive >lave law. I would leave no gr<uinds for cavil. 
Then, too, r:?rr«//f'f /w.vTTr should be hedged in. Patroim;i;e and corrup- 
tion, mutually promnting and sustaining each other, are feaidlil sources 
of e\ il. " growing with i heir growth, and increasing with their strength." 
The experience (d'sevnity \ears of wonderful advanceu)ent in science, 
arts, and general worUi-wide progressive civilization — the experience, 
more directly, upon our system of Government, of the fearful contest 
throuuh which we are now passing, will point out needful changes for 
the permanent good of the system. Some lew States, the apostles and 
devotees of extreme political and moral philosoj)hy, may f)e recijsant, 
and refuse to come into such a convention ; but the gre.tt body of the 
States — a controlling .-hare of the aggregate intelligence, of r!ie physi- 
cal. |>ol!tical, and moral power •)f the people — will come into it, form 
or re-form their Government, atid carry it on successfully. Soon the 
recvsanls \\\\\ seek admission, and be cheerfully received. Thus a last- 
ing, honorable peace will be st cured, healing the sorrow,- of tb^'. past, 
and sj)reading one universal smile of joy over the face of the whole 
land It is said th^t it cannot now be regularly obtained. t.er ir then 
come irregularly. W it but have p^.pular powei- to sanction it, its i:ieg- 
ular action will soon I'orce regularity, and put into form and operative 
substance its decisions and determinations. Without populai sanc- 
tion it tan never exist, and that is an end of the schem(\ 

Mr. chairman, as i»n eflicierit adjunct to a iXationai (Convention, and 
its speedy action. I lavor what is styled in one of the resolutions under 
consideration, " a iVJississip|)i Valley State Conference." That is. the 
States ol the Mississippi valley, as soon as practicable, and as many 
of them as possible, hold a convention of " advice and consultation," 
with a view to deterudne what is best to be d(me for the *' pi esei vation 
of the whole Government, and the further puip<)>e ot maintaining 
their integrity and union." Sir, there is no Hartford conventionism in 



1" 

this. There i:^ no purpose to form " treaties or alliances" in deroga- 
tion of constitutional prohibition. But, sir, the great States lyin.^: 
Mathin the water-shed of the Apalachian chain on the East, and the 
ston}' mountains on the West, cannot be cut otf from the free naviga- 
tion of the " Father of Waters." The}- canpot be divided by an east 
and M'^est line. The finger of nature has drawn no such line. The 
teeming and increasing millions of fee white men, on its upper 
waters, of that race of men who love freedom and prosperity, 
will never consent that the mouths of the .Mississipr)i shall l)e closed 
against them by import or export duties, or in any otiier way. 
They will have its navigation as open to their commerc!\ and as 
free as its mighty waters in their resistless course to the Gulf They 
have a title to it by purchase and contract. They have a title to it as 
part of one Government. They have a title to it from the decree of 
nature itself None of these claims will be abandoned. The people 
on its lower waters need the prod ctions of those on its upper waters, 
as much as the latter do those of the former ; so that, in the division 
of labor, in the exchange of products best adapted to each region, in 
mutual dependence on each other, the prosperity, happiness and glory 
of all will be advanced and promoted. 

These considerations bind them peculiarly together, and their advice 
and counsel, coming from a convention for that purpose, would be im- 
posing. If the States of the great valley determine to inaugurate a 
National Convention, it would be an accomplished fact. 

Now, Mr. chairman, in the views I have thought proper to pre- 
sent in this imperfect discussion, is there anything to give aid and 
comfort to the wicked rebellion that is upon us? God forbid that any 
one should entertain such a thought ! There can be nothing to en- 
# courage or strengthen the elements of opposition to our Government, 
in or out of this House, unless truth can promote and encourage error. 
Condemnation of the bad, dangerous, acts of the Administration is 
not condemnation of that Government itself, but rather true support of 
it. Tame submission to usurpation is encouragement to tyranny. 
The remedies I have suggested, and briefly discussed, are constitution- 
al and peaceful. They may appear slow to a suffering people, but 
they will be sure to the accomplishment of the end. '* Lawless and 
usconstitutional remedies would prove worse than the disease." There 
is no remedy in the rebellion. I have been, and shall continue to be, its 
firm and uncompromising foe. I regard it as the fruitful source of all 
our political woes. Let not those in our midst who favor it, and sym- 
pathize with it, (I wish I could say there were none such,) take com- 
fort or heart from honest and fearless opposition to a bad Administra- 
tion. It does not lie in their mouths to complain of an action of a 
Government they are plotting and striving to overthrow. None of the 
Union sentiment here or of the State, however we may differ as to the 
mode of correcting the evil courses of the men in temporary power, 
will ever give the shadow of countenance to their schemes. This 
rebellion without cause, springing from the wicked ambition of a band 
of conspirators for supposed commercial advantages, founded upon the 
idea that " cotton is king," seized hold of the prerext that the social 
institution of slavery was in danger, when they knew it was not, be- 



18 

cause t.liry could luore readily and surt^Iy upon that subject, and frotn 
its connections and character and environments, past and present, ex- 
cite the storm of [)asr!ion requisite to effect their wicked purpose. 
They knew that by this means they would have thp potent aid of fa- 
natical abolitionists, and become with them co-workers in disunion. 

Kentucky cannot tVaternize or compromise with Disuniojiisls ov with 
treason. This Southern concern, in its organization, is built upon a sandy 
foundation, that could not, if established, resist the storms of its own ne- 
cessary operations. The fatal heresy of State secession is fundamental in 
its organism. And, too, in this age, pa.st the middle of the nineteenth 
century, when physical improvements and the enterprise of commerce 
have almost made a sniidarily of the sentiments of nations and of peo- 
ples to propose as a chief corner-stone in their fabric of confederacy 
\he cxtensvin and propngatioa of African slavery, is a defiance of the 
w< rid's opinions and a stupendous falacy. Has the rebellion done any 
thing in its mad career to commend it to the lovers of free government? 
Tiv conuiieuvl it to Kentucky? Jt began in robbery. By fraud and 
force it codipelled States against the will of a majority of their people, 
to secede and join in with them It has confiscated the debts, in their 
limit^!, due to citizens of other States. It has confiscated the property 
of citizens of the loyal States, found in their reach. It has confisca- 
ted the estate of its own citizens, who de.-^iied to stand by the old flag 
and the government ol their fathers. It has incarcerated non-combat- 
ant citizens of loyal S ates in loathsome dungeons, without charges 
preferred, and without cause. It has condemned to ignominious death 
its citizens without civil trial, and l)y the edict of ii-responsible military 
ti'ibunal, and that, too, without notice of even that kind of trinl. It 
spurns the privileges of the " writ of habeas corpus.^'' it has seized and 
destroyed tlie private property of its people without compensation. It 
has filled the ranks of its armies by a ruthless conscription. It has 
forced the citizen into armed rebellion against the government he 
loved. It claims absolute despotic power over the persons and prop- 
erty of their dominion for its own uses. It has armed the savage 
Indian, antl used tlie slave in its war against the Federal Government. 
•' Oh! my soul, come not thou into their secret !" 

But, sir, this rebellion has invaded Kentucky, and has attempted at 
whatever cost of blood and treasure, to subjugate and drag us out, 
against the oft lepeated opinions of the people, into fellowship with 
them. They have occupied parts of our teriitory ; seized the arms and 
munitions of war of the State ; set up a provisional government over 
the State, and inaugurated a Governor, without the pretext of right; in 
hostility to the constituted authorities; levied taxes, seized her revenues; 
robb( d her officers, her banks, her citizens ; murdered and pillaged her 
people; bu; nt their towns, and hamlets, and homes; destroyed rail- 
roads and public impiovements, even in wantoness, and swept general 
desolation, like a prairie-lire of the west, ovei larg • tr£icts of fertile 
tin ituiv. Kentucky has no fellowship with such a despotism, and "will 
only submit to it when sheljas no power to resist it." 

Who, then, would encourage these things? Who would invite back 
the invading forces of Bragg and Smith and Marshall ? He that 
would do so, let him go view the desolation.'-j of Tennessee, from the 



19 

line of Kentucky to its southern boundaries. Let him go view the 
desert waste, the gloomy destruction, over the fairest parts of poor 
old Virginia — over old Fauquier, sir, (pointing to Hon. M. P. Marshall, 
who sat before him,) where sleep the distinguished and honored dead 
of your long line of ancestry. All the love^ness of her classic valleys, 
and all the treasures and the granduer of her great old hills, are tram- 
pled beneath the destroying tread of contending hosts. Is it to such a 
condition he would bring the fair fields of my own native Kentucky? 
Every wo "shot from malignant stars to earth" would follow such an 
invasion. Our borders would hecome the fit habitation for owls andbats, 
the coverts and the dens for wild beast, and their dreary cries would be 
heard as lonesomely desolate as "the wolt^'s long howl from Onalaska'a 
sliore." Sir, this destiny is preparing for us. If Kentucky were this 
day united; if there were no persons in our midst ardently desiring 
the success of this rebellion, and whose faces grow brighter w^hen the 
invaders come ; if, instead of preliminary meetings and organizations 
of what they call the Democratic 'party, (I fear more for the sake of party 
success, if nothing worse, than with any higher views, we could have 
their harmonious co-operation with all Uaiofi men to save our bleeding 
country, we would not again be seriously invaded. The aid this re- 
bellion may jastly expect from sympathizers and abetters now in our 
midst, who, iVom the wise policy pursued by the Union party, enjoy in 
peace the privileges and protection of a benificent Government they 
seek to overthrow, does more, and will do more, to bring red-handed 
war again upon us th;ui all other causes. We would keep off these 
horrors. Tliry would bring them, in revengeful wrath, upon us. 

Kentucky knows her position. She is not to be forced by the irrita- 
tions, and goadings, and usurpations of abolitionism into the rebellion 
of the South. " One rebellion cannot drive us into another." We may 
be placed between the upper and nether millstones, and ground to 
dust, hut we will not be drawn from our firm foundation of truth and 
constitutional liberty. Kentucky's loyalty has been sneered at and 
contemned in high places. Hei^ past, at least, in this regard, is secure. 
Her acts speak aloud. The valor of her soldiery at Wild Cat, Mill 
Spring, Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Murfreesboro', and other fought- 
en fields, attest her high position. One-half of her military power is 
in the field for the cause of the country, enduring the fatigues of the 
march, the tedious routine and exposures of the camp, the sad horrors 
of the hospital, and the peiils of battle. Our whole State is clad in 
mourning, and the wail of sorrow comes up from tens of thousands of 
^'trickt!n heaits, and thousands of desolate homes. Kentucky spurns 
these mean and contemptible aspersions. She at least will honor her 
" noble brave." They that perish in the strife she will not deem as 
dead, but as only " exchanging their country's arms for their country's 
hearts." 

Sir, uix-iinity :i:i 1 hT,-n):iy of a^tioi is of t!i3 utn^st importance 
in our deliverance on the questions before us. We should, in a spirit 
of p itriotii: c ncession, endeavor to givw an united utterance. If we 
sprak with a divitled voice, much of its potency, much of its legiti- 
mate effect will be lost. I beg for this spirit of harmony. I shall give 
my vot^j sir, to the report of the majority of the committee, because it 



20 

embodies more of the substance of what I deem proper to sav, and 
more of the proper manner of doing it, than any other proposition be- 
fore us. It is generally correct in principle, condensed in matter, 
and imposing in form. I thank the committee for their indulgent at- 
tention, n 




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